Man arrested over deaths of mother, grandmother in Shimane

Police have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 46-year-old mother and 82-year-old grandmother at their home in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.

The suspect, Sogo Hara, was detained for questioning late Monday after being picked up on a street in Izumo city and charged with the murders of his mother Keiko, and her mother-in-law Yasue Hara, on Tuesday morning, Fuji TV reported. Police said Hara has admitted to killing the two women but has so far given no motive.

According to police, Yasue was found collapsed and bleeding at the bottom of the staircase at her home by a relative at around 9:30 a.m. Monday. Police said she had been beaten about the head by a hammer. Keiko was also found, on the second floor, bleeding from head wounds. Both women were taken to hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Keiko’s husband and their daughter, who also lived in the house, were out at the time, police said.

Nov. 6, 2018
05:06 pm JST

Nov. 7, 2018
03:03 am JST

Sensei258 is either Japanese or a long-time resident who knows Japan very well...What he says reflects my immediate reaction when I saw the story. But lest anyone think that Japan is "unique" and/weird in this regard, it might not be so different elsewhere.

Nov. 7, 2018
07:36 am JST

Nov. 7, 2018
03:55 pm JST

According to Japanese news sites he is still a student in this 3rd year of college. What an unthinkable tragedy for the father and sister. How do you reconcile that a family member killed two other members of your family?

Nov. 6, 2018
05:21 pm JST

Nov. 6, 2018
07:34 pm JST

Our resident amen corner continually tell us that we cannot extrapolate anything meaningful from individual cases and that our concern about a fundamental breakdown in the social compact is misplaced. Nothing to see here, move along, they inform us.

I’m with Voltaire on this one. We are definitely not living in the best of all possible worlds. The warning signs are all there and remaining silent is not the answer.